The Royal Couple, match made in the heavens

LONDON (AP) — Kate Middleton and Prince William are a match made in heaven. Just check their horoscopes.

The couple will be delighted to know their star signs, Capricorn and Cancer, indicate they are highly compatible and have a good chance of having a successful marriage, according to leading British astrologers.

“They probably feel like soulmates,” said Wendy Stacey, chair of the Astrological Association of Great Britain.

Take it as a bunch of hooey or a celestial peek into the future. Just keep in mind that The Associated Press reported in 1981 that an astrologer warned that Prince Charles, who was born under the complex sign of Scorpio, would have a “stormy marriage” in his union with Princess Diana, born under the sensitive, intuitive Cancer star sign.

Everyone knows how that ended up.

Jay Lucan, who works with the British Astrological and Psychic Society said the new royal couple have “75 percent relationship compatibility” based on their star charts — giving them “definitely a good chance” of outlasting William’s parents in matrimony.

Both Stacey and Lucan acknowledge they cannot confirm the accuracy of their predictions for many reasons. The biggest drawback is not knowing Middleton’s exact time of birth; Prince William’s was publicly announced as a matter of national interest.

So what do the couple’s birth dates tell us?

For starters, Middleton, born on Jan. 9, 1982, is a Capricorn (an earth sign) while William, born June 21, 1982, is a Cancer (a water sign). Each star sign is designated an element: air, water, fire and earth.

“Cancers and Capricorns are opposites as water and earth,” Stacey explains. “As a result, they can read each other very clearly and they have a deep emotional understanding. It’s quite a lovely thing.”

Middleton and Prince William, the astrologers claim, both exhibit characteristic traits of their star signs.

“William is emotionally very private — a typical Cancer. He doesn’t share a lot and likes to retreat,” Stacey said. Case in point: the couple plan to settle post-wedding in a backwater town in Wales as Prince William works as a search and rescue pilot with the Royal Air Force.

Think of the crusty crab that represents the Cancer sign, Lucan said — crabs have a thick shell on the outside, protecting a very vulnerable soft body. “William’s not that well-equipped to deal with criticism. He shares that same trait with his mother (also a Cancer),” Lucan said.

As a Capricorn, Middleton, apparently, is much tougher. “She definitely wears the pants in the relationship,” Stacey said.

Typical of her sign, Middleton is ambitious: she’s a commoner marrying into the world’s most famous royal family. And extremely patient — she did, after all, spend eight years waiting for her prince to pop the question.

(This version CORRECTS in last sentence that couple were together at least eight years.)